If, as Dean Smith said, the Tar Heels weren't playing for anything important against Duke, then look out when something meaningful is on the the line.
North Carolina's 83-69 blowout of No. 6 Duke had no bearing on the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. The Tar Heels already had clinched first and the two-time defending national champion Blue Devils had a lock on third before Sunday. But any victory over Duke has to make North Carolina happy.Still, the Tar heels managed to stay low-key as they look forward to the ACC tournament.
"Usually we're playing for something more than just the win. We weren't playing for anything really important things going on in Yugtoslavia."
North Carolina sophomore guard Donald Williams scored a career-high 27 points and 7-foot center Eric Montross scored 18 to pace the Tar Heels. Senior swingman George Lynch had 12 points and 11 rebounds in his last game at Chapel Hill. Brian Reese added 10 points.
North Carolina improved to 26-3 overall and finished 14-2 in the ACC with its ninth straight win.
Duke finished its regular season at 23-6 overall and 10-6 in the ACC. Missing Grant Hill with a toe injury, Kuke wasn't expected to win against the favored Tar Heels. The loss hurt anyway.
"They punished us," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
No. 3 Arizona 94, Stanford 80
At Palo Alto, Calif., Ed STokes scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Arizona in a Pacific 10 Conference game. The Wildcats, 22-3 and 15-1, have already clinched the conference championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
No. 4 Kentucky 85, Floriday 77
At Gainesville, Fla., Travis Ford scored 23 points, leading Kentucky in a Southeast Conference game. Jamal Mashburn added 16 for Kentucky, 23-3 and 13-3.
No. 5 Michigan 87, Michigan State 81 OT
At Ann Arbor, Mich., Chris Webber scored 21 points, jalen Rose added 20 and Juwan Howard scored 5 of his 19 in overtime to lifts Michigan to the Big Ten victory.
No. 8 Kansas 74, No. 19 Oklahoma St. 73
At Stillwater, Okla., Rex Walters scored 27 points, including a key 3-pointer down the stretch, and Kansad rallied for a Big Eight conference victory.
No. 17 New Orleans 73, Arkansas St. 59
At Biloxi, Miss., Reggie Garrett scored 18 points and Ervin Johnson added 15 to lift New Orleans in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
No. 25 Umass 75, St. Bonaventure 62
At Philadelphia, Derek Kellogg scored 19 points to lead UMass in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.